


Amber Potter and the Dragon Boy: Year 1

by fluffy_chan



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: ...and more! - Freeform, ...at least to Amber, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Amber and Draco, Draco Malfoy Needs a Hug, Draco Malfoy is a Good Friend, F/M, Harry Has a Twin, I mean a LOT, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Slow Burn, Tags May Change, That's what this is about, Vernon Dursley is actually the worst, and lots of stuff is pulled directly from the books, her name is Amber, like dialogue and some scenes, side romantic interests if you squint, the Malfoys aren't all bad, this will be a series, this will be a series eventually
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-14
Updated: 2020-04-14
Packaged: 2021-03-02 01:41:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,907
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23657023
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fluffy_chan/pseuds/fluffy_chan
Summary: (Set in an alternate reality where Harry has a twin sister named Amber)Let's face it, life with the Dursleys sucks.So much so that Harry and Amber Potter wish regularly that they can go somewhere - anywhere - else.When their 11th birthday comes around, they learn of their magical lineage and are sent to attend the most prestigious school for magic in Great Britain: Hogwarts.However, they're separated for the first time ever and have to learn how to make some actual friends, a luxury they never had until now.Friends, magic, and betrayal all become large parts of their lives as the twins learn to navigate the new magical world they have been thrown into.
Relationships: Draco Malfoy/Original Female Character(s)
Kudos: 6





	Amber Potter and the Dragon Boy: Year 1

**Author's Note:**

> Some things to address before you read:
> 
> 1) This is set in an alternate reality where Harry has a twin sister named Amber. Amber is the protagonist of this work. She looks a lot like Lily, but with James' eyes.
> 
> 2) There will be a lot of dialogue and events pulled straight from the books. Like, A LOT. Especially in this first installment. That's mainly because the same type of shenanigans that follow Harry around will also follow Amber around. This first installment (yes, this will be a series that covers all 7 books) will likely contain the bulk of those interactions pulled straight from the book. The rest of the time, they will be heavily referenced. You have been warned. 
> 
> 3) Finally, I start University soon. Like in a month and a half. So if this stops updating for a long while, you know exactly what happened to me.
> 
> And now, please enjoy reading!

Loud thumps above my head woke me up, like always.

I groaned, and turned my attention to the small door, counting down silently.

_ Three...two...one… _

As soon as I hit ‘one’, there were harsh raps on the door, and the voice of my Aunt - “Up! Get up! Now!”

I rolled myself out of bed as I heard her walking away, and turned to my twin brother, Harry.

Harry, who had somehow slept through both Dudley’s daily troupe down the stairs, and Aunt Petunia’s insistent rapping on the door, began to shift in his sleep. I took the one step across the cramped room, and started to prod the black-haired boy.

“Psst...Harry! Wake up!”

He shifted again, “Nngg...Don’t wanna wake up…”

I let out a sigh, “Harry, I need you to get up. It’s Dudley’s birthday, and you know how they get…”

At the mention of Dudley’s birthday, Harry shot up and looked around.

I, on the other hand, walked over to the small chest of drawers that I shared with my brother, and pulled out a nice-looking outfit, consisting of a light blue blouse and a gray, knee-length skirt.

“I will be back in five minutes. Be ready by then, because I won’t knock, nor will I step out for you to change.”

I grabbed my hairbrush, along with my clothes, and quietly left the room, heading across the hall to the bathroom.

I entered the small, blank room, and quickly changed out of the oversized shirt that was passed down from Dudley, and into the outfit I had picked out.

Satisfied with my clothing, I started on my hair, which was currently tied into two braids. Letting them out, I made quick work of the knots that decided they wanted to live in my fiery hair.

Quickly, I brushed my teeth, before grabbing my nightshirt and hairbrush, exiting the bathroom, and re entering the small cupboard under the stairs. When I entered, I saw my brother sitting on his bed, hurriedly putting his socks on.

“Good to see you up, finally.”

Harry looked at me, “Good morning, Ember.”

I gave my brother a pointed look, “It’s Amber, and you know it is...Harrold.”

It was Harry’s turn to glare at me as I pulled on my socks and shoes, exiting the room before he could make a comeback.

When I entered the kitchen, I noticed that the table wasn’t even visible under all the gifts that were piled on top of it. I didn’t have time to stare for long, as Aunt Petunia quickly took note of my presence, thanks to my red hair, and pulled me over to the stove to finish breakfast.

“Don’t you dare let that bacon burn, I want everything perfect for Duddy’s birthday.”

Suppressing a groan that I wanted to let out, I watched the bacon, letting it cook fully before setting the strips on a plate and frying eggs.

As I was pulling the eggs off the stove, Dudley made his way into the kitchen, and started to stare at the pile of presents.

While I was plating breakfast for everyone, I heard Dudley complain about not having enough presents. I rolled my brown eyes, and started looking for an open spot on the table to set the plates full of food.

Harry noticed my struggle, and came to my aid, taking two of the plates from the counter and looking for a place to set them as well.

“Uh...Aunt Petunia?”

The blonde woman turned her head at me, and gave me an icy glare, “What?” she snapped.

“Breakfast is ready.”I replied softly. Honestly, she scared me most of the time, and seemed to snap at me far more than she snapped at Harry. I remember one time she was talking to Uncle Vernon about how I looked like someone she knew, but with the venom in her voice I knew that she greatly disliked whoever it was.

Harry, Dudley, and Aunt Petunia joined Uncle Vernon at the table, shifting gifts out of the way to make room for breakfast, and I set plates in front of them, each full of bacon, eggs, and toast. Harry was the only one who said ‘Thank you’ to me.

While they started eating, I walked back to the kitchen counter to grab the two mugs, one of coffee and one of tea, and gave them to Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia. I went back again, this time getting glasses of orange juice for Harry and Dudley, before finally going to the kitchen for a third and final time to grab my plate and glass of orange juice.

I sat down as Dudley started to rip open his presents, not really paying attention to, or caring, what he got. 

The phone rang, and Aunt Petunia ran to answer it, not trusting Harry or I to use the phone.

She returned and spoke to Uncle Vernon, and they started bickering.

“You could leave us here.” Harry cut in, and I looked at him questioning.

He whispered to me, “Mrs. Figg broke her leg, so she can’t watch us today.”

I nodded at what he was saying, before Dudley started to cry.

Well, not cry. For as long as I could remember, Dudley had never cried, rather he scrunched up his face and wailed loudly.

Aunt Petunia started to frantically try to calm Dudley down, while he wailed about how he didn’t want us to come because we “always ruin everything.”

A knock on the door snapped Dudley out of his horrid wailing, and in came Piers Polkiss, Dudley’s best friend.

Uncle Vernon pulled Harry and I aside, and got in our faces, “Listen you two. Absolutely NO funny business today, got it?”

We nodded, but we knew that we could do nothing to stop anything strange from happening.

Strange seemed to follow us like a shadow; once Harry’s hair grew back overnight after Aunt Petunia nearly shaved him bald, and I had once gotten in trouble for flooding a restroom at school, despite only going in there to hide from the bullies and never even touching a sink or toilet.

We piled into the car, and went to the zoo, which started out great, but ended in disaster.

As soon as we got there, the Dursleys bought Piers and Dudley large chocolate ice creams, and Harry and I were able to get lemon ice pops because the lady in the booth asked what we wanted before Uncle Vernon could pay.

We walked a bit behind the other four, as two boys were already getting bored of the animals, so they wouldn’t fall back to their favorite games - Hit Harry and Tease Amber.

At lunch, Dudley complained that his Knickerbocker Glory didn’t have enough ice cream on top, so Harry and I were allowed to finish it while Uncle Vernon bought him another one.

However, after lunch everything went spiralling out of control.

We went to the reptile house, where it was dark and cool, and Dudley decided that he wanted to see a particular snake move. The only one that was sleeping.

After a bit of tapping and knocking on the glass, he gave up and moved onto the next reptile, while Harry and I went to look at the poor snake that endured Dudley’s torment.

“It says here that it’s a Brazilian Boa Constrictor, bred here in the zoo.”

We looked at the snake as it slowly opened its eyes, then winked at us. 

We stared at it, before Piers started yelling for Dudley to come over and look at the snake.

Dudley punched Harry out of the way, and Piers told me to move it, ‘or else’. 

The glass vanished right as Dudley and Piers were leaning close to it, and they jumped back in horror as the snake uncoiled itself and escaped what was once its prison.

When we got home, we were sent immediately to the cupboard, thanks to Piers ratting us out about how we were talking to the snake.

“I don’t get it.”

Harry looked at me as I stared at the door, “You don’t get what?”

“Why do they hate us? Even if they hated mum and dad, it’s only fair to give us a small chance to prove that we’re not hoodlums, or whatever they want to call our parents. When I grow up, even if we come to hate each other, I promise that if your son or daughter shows up on my front step, that I’ll give them a fair chance.”

“Me too,” he replied.

We sat in silence for a few hours, waiting for everyone else to go to bed so we could sneak some food.

That punishment was the longest we ever received, and by the time we were allowed to leave the cupboard on our own terms the summer holiday had started.

We spent much of that summer like every other one that we’ve had - out of the house. However, the end of the holiday wasn’t as bleak as ones previous. 

When the school term came back around, Harry and I would be sent to highschool, and Dudley would be sent to a private academy, separating him from us for once.

One day in July, we were left with Mrs. Figg while the Dursleys went to London to get Dudley his new uniform. As it turned out, Mrs. Figg broke her leg by tripping over one of her cats, so she allowed us to watch television instead of looking at pictures of her cats, and even gave us a bit of chocolate cake that tasted old, and somewhat like cat litter.

The next morning, we came out to a horrid smell that emanated from a metal tub in the sink, where gray clothes were swimming around in dirty, gray water.

While I looked at the clothes, Harry asked the question I dared not to ask.

“What are those?”

Aunt Petunia snapped, like she always did when we asked a question, “That’s your new school uniform.”

Harry and I looked at each other, a bit confused, before Petunina added, “I’m dying some of Dudley’s old clothes for you. They’ll look just like everyone else’s when I’m done.

I muttered under my breath, “I doubt it…”

Uncle Vernon came into the kitchen with Dudley, both of their noses wrinkled in disgust from the scent coming from the dying clothes. Vernon sat at the table, and opened his paper, while Dudley banged his Smeltings stick on the table.

We all heard the click of the mail slot, then a flop as the mail fell to the doormat.

The three boys went back and forth over who was going to get the mail, which ended, as usual, with Harry being sent to retrieve it.

It took him longer than usual, and Uncle Vernon cracked a joke about checking for letter bombs. 

When Harry did come back, he handed two of the four letters to Uncle Vernon, one to me, and kept one for himself.

Curious, I looked at the thick, yellowish parchment that made the envelope, and looked at the name it was addressed to in emerald ink - 

_ Miss A. Potter _

_ The Cupboard Under the Stairs _

_ 4 Privet Drive _

_ Little Whinging _

_ Surrey  _

I turned over the envelope, and examined the purple wax seal, bearing a lion, an eagle, a badger, and a snake, all curved around a large letter ‘H’.

I carefully ripped open the envelope, and pulled out the letter, which was made of the same, thick parchment that the envelope. As I was unfolding it, Dudley started to yell about how Harry and I had letters.

I started to read the letter, and what was on the very top of the page nearly made my heart stop.

Neatly printed at the top, were the words  _ Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry _ .

Before I could read any further, the letter was ripped from my hands, and I saw Harry already had his letter taken. Aunt Petunia looked as if she would faint or be sick, and all three of us, Dudley included, were thrown from the kitchen and into the hall by the stairs.

The boys had a fight over who got to listen from the keyhole, and Dudley won, leading me to hold my brother’s glasses while he laid on his stomach, trying to listen to what the adults were saying.

That night, something happened that made me believe in magic, but only for a minute.

Uncle Vernon came to visit us in the cupboard after he got home from work, and started to talk to us about the letters. About how it was a mistake that they were sent to us, that he burned them, and how we were getting too big to sleep in the cupboard.

We were told to grab our stuff, and move it up to Dudley’s second bedroom, which would now be ours.

It only took one trip to move everything up, seeing as neither of us had anything except for the bare necessities. Stepping into the room, I noticed all the broken toys and those that had been tossed aside because of lost interest.

I decided to keep what I read to myself for the time being, seeing as I had no idea now if someone was going to hear us in the new room.

The next few days were...strange.

Dudley still didn’t get his way, and was being asked to get the mail instead of Harry or I, seeing as we would most likely hide our letters so we could read them.

More letters came, and they were addressed to “Mr. H. Potter” and “Miss A. Potter,” both bearing the same address under them, “The Smallest Bedroom, 4 Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey.”

It got to the point where Uncle Vernon was staying home from work; he would wait on the porch for the mail, boarded up the mail slot on the door, and nailed every entry and exit on the main floor.

Sunday came, and he looked tired and ill, but happy, muttering about how there was no post on Sunday. However, he spoke too soon.

Letters, seemingly endless amounts of letters, started to shoot out of the chimney, and we were all told to pack and be ready to go in no more than five minutes.

Harry, Dudley and I were sitting in the back seat, where Dudley was sniffling because his father hit him ‘round the head due to him trying to pack his television, VCR, and computer into his sports bag.

Every now and then, we’d make a sharp turn and double back for a while. Not even Aunt Petunia dared to speak up and ask where we were going.

The next morning, as we were eating tinned tomatoes on toast and stale cornflakes, the owner of the hotel asked if any of us were H. Potter or A. Potter. Before Harry or I were able to answer, Vernon was following the woman to the desk.

According to Dudley, hours later, when they had drove all over, he wanted to stay in a place with a television because it was Monday, and the Great Humberto was on.

As soon as he said that, Harry and I looked at each other, thinking the same thing.

_ We’ll be eleven tomorrow. _

Birthdays with the Dursleys were never fun for us, but we were still excited. Afterall, you don’t turn eleven everyday.

Currently, we were sitting by the coast, locked in the car by Uncle Vernon.

He came back and ushered us out of the car, into the cold rainy day, and led us to a small boat. We rowed to a rock with a small, run-down shack on it, where we would be staying for the night.

Later that night, after everyone had gone off to bed, Harry and I were still wide awake, awaiting our birthday to come.

When there were only ten minutes left, my mind began to wonder. Maybe the house would be full enough of letters that both Harry and I could grab one and finally read the rest of the letter.

When Dudley’s watch read midnight, a loud  _ thud _ sounded from the door.

Someone was knocking.

They knocked a second time, and Uncle Vernon came skidding out of his room, and Dudley shot awake, asking where the cannon was.

A third knock made the door come right off its hinges, revealing a giant of a man.

He was so tall, that he had to hunch a bit to keep from hitting his head on the ceiling, and most of his face was hidden by his great, bushy beard that only really showed his eyes.

I, along with everyone in the hut, stared up at the man as he set the door back in place.

He came over and told Dudley to move, making the boy run behind his mother.

He turned to us, his black eyes crinkled in a smile, “An’ here they are! Harry and Amber, the kids of the hour!”

I looked at my brother, and he looked at me as the giant continued, “Las’ time I saw you, you was only a pair of babies. Yeh both look so much like yer parents, but yer eyes are switched.”

“I demand that you leave at once, sir!” Uncle Vernon rasped out, “You are breaking and entering!”

The giant replied, “Ah, shut up, Dursley, yeh great prune.” He reached over and grabbed the rifle from Uncle Vernon, and bent it into a knot like it was nothing.

“Anyway,” the giant turned back to us, “a very happy birthday to yeh two. Got summat fer yeh - I mighta sat on it at some point, but it’ll taste alright.

He pulled out a slightly squished box from inside his large overcoat, and handed it to Harry, who opened it to reveal a sticky chocolate cake with  _ Happy Birthday Harry and Amber _ written in green icing.

We looked up at the giant, and I spoke before my twin.

“Thank you...but who are you exactly?”

The giant chuckled.

"True, I haven't introduced meself. Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts."

He shook Harry’s whole arm, and pulled me into a bone-crushing hug.

He looked at the empty fire grate and let out a snort. Getting up from the couch, he bent over it for a moment, and pulled back to reveal a roaring fire, which lit and heated up the cold room.

The giant sat back down on the sofa, which sagged a little under his weight, and pulled various things from his coat, like a copper kettle and a package of sausages.

He skewered the sausages on a poker he pulled out, and let them cook before sliding the first round of fat, juicy, although slightly burned, sausages off the skewer.

Dudley fidgeted, and Uncle Vernon told him not to take anything that the giant gave him.

He just chuckled and said, “Yer great puddin' of a son don' need fattenin' anymore, Dursley, don' worry."

He handed the sausages to my brother and I, and I thanked him before digging into the sausages he gave me. While they were not my favorite food, I ate them and was thankful to have something to eat instead of nothing at all.

Harry finished before me and asked, once again, who the giant was.

"Call me Hagrid," he said, "everyone does. An' like I told yeh, I'm Keeper of Keys at Hogwarts - yeh'll know all about Hogwarts, o' course.”

Harry looked at me for help, and I responded.

“We don’t know exactly what Hogwarts is, other than it’s a school for magic. That’s all I was ever able to read before my letter was taken from me…”

Hagrid looked shocked.

Harry quickly apologized for both of us as our Aunt, Uncle, and cousin shrank back into the shadows.

Hagrid barked out, “Sorry?” he looked at the Dursleys, “"It' s them as should be sorry! I knew yeh weren't gettin' yer letters but I never thought yeh wouldn't even know abou' Hogwarts, fer cryin' out loud! Did yeh never wonder where yet parents learned it all?"

“All what?” we asked in unison.

“ALL WHAT?” Hagrid was thundering at this point, and his anger filled the cabin as he stood to stare at the Dursleys, “Do you mean ter tell me," he growled at them, "that these children - these children! - knows nothin' abou' -- about ANYTHING?"

I got defensive real quick, “Hey! We’ve been to school! We can show you math and science and stuff!”

“No, I mean about our world. Your world. My world. Yer parents’ world.”

“What world?” Harry questioned.

Hagrid looked like he was about to explode, “DURSLEY!”

Uncle Vernon cowered, as white as a sheet, and mumbled something along the lines of “Mimblewimble.”

"But yeh must know about yet mom and dad," he said. "I mean, they're famous. You're famous." 

“Our parents weren’t famous, were they?”

"Yeh don' know... yeh don' know..." Hagrid ran his fingers through his wild hair.

“Yeh don’ know what yeh are?”

We shook our heads, and our Uncle found his voice.

“I forbid you from telling them anything!”

“Tell us what?” my voice started to rise.

"You never told them? Never told them what was in the letter Dumbledore left fer them? I was there! I saw Dumbledore leave it, Dursley! An' you've kept it from them all these years?"

“Kept what from us?” Harry was bursting with excitement, while I was fuming that our family kept something from us our whole lives.

"STOP! I FORBID YOU!" yelled Uncle Vernon in panic while Aunt Petunia gave a gasp of horror.

"Ah, go boil yer heads, both of yeh," Hagrid turned to us, “Harry, yer a wizard, an’ Amber, yer a witch.”

I looked at him, shocked, as did my brother.

“An' thumpin' good'uns, I'd say, once yeh've been trained up a bit. With a mum an' dad like yours, what else would yeh be? An' I reckon it's abou' time yeh read yer letters."

He handed us both letters, and mine was labeled, once again in emerald ink -

_ Miss A. Potter _

_ The Floor _

_ Hut-on-the-Rock _

_ The Sea _

I turned it over, and looked at the same purple wax seal that held, what I now assumed was, the crest of the school.

I opened the thick parchment envelope, and pulled the letter out of it.

_ HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY _

_ Headmaster: ALBUS DUMBLEDORE _

_ (Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards) _

_ Dear Miss Potter, _

_ We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment. Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31.  _

_ Yours sincerely,  _

_ Minerva McGonagall,  _

_ Deputy Headmistress _

I had a question, but Harry beat me to it, “"What does it mean, they await my owl?"

Hagrid hit his forehead with enough force to give a normal person a concussion, “"Gallopin' Gorgons, that reminds me," from another pocket of his enormous coat he pulled a live owl, a quill, and a roll of parchment.

He wrote a letter that I was unable to read from where I stood, gave it to the owl, then let said owl out the front door.

Uncle Vernon decided to try to fight the giant of a man who told us that we were magic by telling him that we weren’t going.

Hagrid called Uncle Vernon a Muggle, and I, of course, asked what a muggle was.

“It's what we call nonmagic folk like them. An' it's your bad luck you grew up in a family o' the biggest Muggles I ever laid eyes on." 

I quickly put two and two together, and realized that they knew since day one.

“You knew that we were magic, didn’t you?”

Aunt Petunia shrieked, “Knew! Knew! Of course we knew! How could you two not be, my dratted sister being what she was? Oh, she got a letter just like that and disappeared off to that-that school-and came home every vacation with her pockets full of frogspawn, turning teacups into rats. I was the only one who saw her for what she was - a freak! But for my mother and father, oh no, it was Lily this and Lily that, they were proud of having a witch in the family!" She drew in a deep breath before continuing, “Then she met that Potter at school and they left and got married and had you, and of course I knew you'd be just the same, just as strange, just as - as - abnormal - and then, if you please, she went and got herself blown up and we got landed with you two!"

My face was red enough to match my hair at this point. We had been lied to this whole time, our whole lives.

“YOU TOLD ME THAT MY MUM AND DAD DIED IN A CAR CRASH!”

Hagrid was just as furious as me at this point, and repeated, “CAR CRASH!”

The Dursleys cowered farther into the corner they were standing in.

“"How could a car crash kill Lily an' James Potter? It's an outrage! A scandal! Harry and Amber Potter not knowin' their own story when every kid in our world knows their names!" 

Harry asked the question that I feared to ask, “But...what happened to them?”

Hagrid told us the whole story, at least what he could of it, and I sat there, shocked.

Then, Uncle Vernon got his voice back.

“Load of old tosh,” he snarled, “I accept there's something strange about you two, probably nothing a good beating wouldn't have cured - and as for all this about your parents, well, they were weirdos, no denying it, and the world's better off without them in my opinion - asked for all they got, getting mixed up with these wizarding types - just what I expected, always knew they'd come to a sticky end -”

I rose from my spot on the floor that I had settled into for Hagrid's story, and gave my Uncle a fierce glare that made him cower and back down. He knew I was destructive when I was angry.

“But...how do we know that we’re magic if we’ve never done magic?”

Hagrid laughed at Harry’s question, “Not a magic, eh? Never made things happen when you was scared or angry?”

I responded, “I once made a chair move from one end of the room to the other without anyone going near it. It broke when it hit the wall.”

“They’re not going. They’re going to Stonewall High and they’ll be grateful for it. I've read those letters and they need all sorts of rubbish - spell books and wands and -" Uncle Vernon hissed.

“If they want ter go, a great Muggle like you won't stop them," growled Hagrid. "Stop Lily an' James Potter's kids goin' ter Hogwarts! Yer mad. Their names ‘ave been down ever since they was born. They’re off ter the finest school of witchcraft and wizardry in the world. Seven years there and they won't know themselves. They’ll be with youngsters of their own sort, fer a change, an' be under the greatest headmaster Hogwarts ever had Albus Dumbled-"

"I AM NOT PAYING FOR SOME CRACKPOT OLD FOOL TO TEACH THEM MAGIC TRICKS!" yelled Uncle Vernon. But he had finally gone too far.

Hagrid seized his umbrella and whirled it over his head, "NEVER," he thundered, "- INSULT- ALBUS- DUMBLEDORE - IN- FRONT- OF- ME!"

Hagrid brought down his umbrella and pointed it at Dudley, who squealed in pain, and turned around to show a curly pig’s tail sticking out of a hole in his trousers.

Uncle Vernon took Aunt Petunia and Dudley into the other room, and gave all three of us a deadly glare, before slamming the door.

"Shouldn'ta lost me temper," Hagrid said ruefully, "but it didn't work anyway. Meant ter turn him into a pig, but I suppose he was so much like a pig anyway there wasn't much left ter do."

I had to hold in my laughter.

"Be grateful if yeh didn't mention that ter anyone at Hogwarts," he said. "I'm - er - not supposed ter do magic, strictly speakin'. I was allowed ter do a bit ter follow yeh an' get yer letters to yeh an' stuff - one o' the reasons I was so keen ter take on the job.”

“Why aren't you supposed to do magic?" asked Harry. 

"Oh, well - I was at Hogwarts meself but I - er - got expelled, ter tell yeh the truth. In me third year. They snapped me wand in half an' everything. But Dumbledore let me stay on as gamekeeper. Great man, Dumbledore." 

"Why were you expelled?" 

"It's gettin' late and we've got lots ter do tomorrow," said Hagrid loudly. "Gotta get up ter town, get all yer books an' that."

He took off his thick black coat and threw it to us.

"You can kip under that," he said. "Don' mind if it wriggles a bit, I think I still got a couple o' dormice in one o' the pockets."

I looked at my brother and shrugged, laying down on the floor where I was sitting, and pulled part of the enormous coat, which  _ did _ wriggle a bit, over myself.

_ Looks like I’m in for a big change, huh? _


End file.
